dark orange amber color and a huge head of white coming up and over the top. Majestic looking would be the right word here. Thick lacing up and down the sides of the glass throughout. Most pungent aroma I have come across in as long as I can remember. Thick dose of grapefruit and orange right up front. Huge sticky hops just dripping off of this one. Rich and sweet as I take the first sip. Grapefruit and sugar dipped orange just coating the tongue. Soo fresh it almost hurts. Even warming it brings no relief as the hops are soo thick and omnipresent that you are just taken a back and completely blown away. Long dry finish is coated with soo many flavors, again I am blown away.

Last bottle in the store from my new favorite place New Beer Distributors in the Bowery of Manhattan. Aromas of thick caramel malts, toffee, butterscotch, with some earthy/herbal and light citrus/grapefruit hoppiness. Lesser notes of woody/cider smells.The tastes follow the nose with sweet caramel and brown sugar maltiness which quickly lends itself to a substantial but not overwhelming earthy and grapefruit hops bitterness. The finish is dry from the oak aging. Slight hints of vanilla and apple throughout. The mouthfeel is quite full and sticky; hops and oak linger ever-so-slightly on the palate. Overall this is a great offering from Two Brothers. I am glad that I have an older bottle as a fresh one I feel would have been too hoppy and the wood characteristics may have been overlooked/overshadowed.

Having had this in years past, I was not impressed. Something changed this year as this was outstanding. TONS of citrus fruits, grapefruit, orange, lemon. Not overly bitter. A thick malty backbone gives this beer an awesome mouthfeel. Highly drinkable. High five to two brothers. Do me a favor and put it in bombers next year.

Served at the Tap House in Oswego. Nice tangerine orange color with an persistent off-white head. Aroma of bicuity malts topped by a bouquet of American hops, I figure Amarillo, Simcoe, and Cascade. A malt-forward body typical of 2Bros, with a nicely layered hop presentation from bittering through to a final flame-out addition. Keeps the malt-hops balance better than some other DIPAs. Even with a heavier body, the complexity of the flavors and the palate-clearing of the hop bitterness keeps inviting you back for more. Recommended to hop-heads and to those who want more from a beer than just a hop-puckered grin.

Drinkability -- It tastes good overall, but it is a bit of a malt bomb by IPA/DIPA standards. Lots of juicy fruits and caramel malt paired with moderate hop bitterness makes for a muddled compositon (Good Will Hunting? No?). The oak character is nice: really heavy on the vanilla-like notes, but unfortunately it tends to accentuate the caramel malt that was already a bit out of hand. A tasty beer, but not a great DIPA.

Verdict: try it on tap if you can, but don't bother saving your pennies for a double-magnum.

Glad I got to try this one on-tap before my only option was a $50+ 3L beast. It pours a clear amber topped by a thick finger of cream-colored foam. The nose comprises mandarin oranges, lemongrass, light onion, and mild toffee. The taste holds notes of miscellaneous greens, flowers, pine, and light toffee. The body is a solid medium, with a smooth carbonation and an unsurprisingly smooth feel. Overall, a fairly solid DIPA, but it seems a bit weak, as though they tried too hard to make a hop-bomb but instead came away with a strangely mild and one-dimensional brew. It's not altogether bad, though, and is definitely drinkable, but it falls short of greatness.

This beer is presented to me an orange amber with a 3/4 finger of ecru foam. The smell is really like sugary hops. It's hard to describe the spice notes that I know to exist, but it's a good smell. The taste is lots of wet hops that don't come across with an intense bitterness. It's was described by one of my friends like drinking a hop candy. There is a caramel sweetness and perhaps some cinnamon sugar. There is a bit of dryness on the palate, but it's so nice and smooth and easier to drink than most beers that it's well worth the effort. It was definitely the star of this tasting.

Pours a nice moderate amber color with a tiny bit of haze. White head and some lacing. The nose is pine and citrus. Good amounts of those without much malt in the background. What is there counts toward the caramel tally board as well as some slight bread dough. The mouthfeel is good and bitter, while still a bit sweet. Drinks quite well and is a nice brew from the folks in Warrenville.

Tasted from bottle. Pours clear, dark, amber with a thick beige head that recedes to heavy lace. Nose is nice caramel malt with some grapefruit hops and fresh red apple. The flavors are very well balanced with hops, malt, and fruitiness coming through equally. The apple flavor is rather strong and very unique to and IPA for me. The body is medium plus with average carbonation and a long apple and bitter finish.

Acquired from pochman, courtesy of BA Secret Santa 2009 so a big "Thank You" goes out to him. Poured from a 22oz bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep golden brown color, with a large dense off-white head that fades very slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains caramelized malts, piney hops and citrus.

T: The taste starts out very sweet with strong flavors of caramel, brown sugar and citrus. Then a hearty malt character comes in. The hops presence takes some time to take effect and it seems rather subdued, but it's certainly there and brings a good balance. There's also a little bit of an alcohol sting which is kind of strong for a beer that is just over 8:00% ABV. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

A:First Pour is a see-thru copper color; second pour is a little cloudier with a nice aggressive head to it with scattered lacing down the glass

S:At first smell I get a lot of earthy grass tones and then after that hits a nice fresh piney scent to it.

T:Quite interesting, not too much up front until it hits the back of the tongue. Then those hops start to kick in with a slight malt backbone to smooth it out. Fresh tasting hops stick to the palate, leaving a sticky pine resin and all most slight smoky finish behind. Alcohol presence is fairly well hidden.

M:Had a fairly thinner body but I don't think what such a bad thing for what it seems like they were going for, good carbonation throughout.

D:All in all a very enjoyable threat for my Sunday night, a nicely put together fresh hop IPA. Interesting taste to the brew that leaves you very intrigued and wanting a little more, easy to drink and a well hidden ABV. If you could get a bottle of this limited release I would suggest it.